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| Image Source: Good Reads |
Introduction
Author: Kenneth Martin Follett
Language: English
Genre: Thriller, Historical Fiction, Spy
fiction, War story
About the Author
Kenneth Martin Follett, CBE, FRSL is a
Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 160
million copies of his works. Many of his books have achieved a high ranking on bestseller
lists.
Book Review
Eye of the Needle is a spy thriller novel
written by Welsh author Ken Follett. It was originally published in 1978 by the
Penguin Group under the title Storm Island. This novel was Follett’s first
successful, best-selling effort as a novelist, and it earned him the 1979 Edgar
Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America. The revised title is
an allusion to the “eye of a needle” aphorism.
The book was made into a motion picture of the same title in 1981, starring Donald Sutherland, with a screenplay adapted by Stanley Mann and directed by Richard Marquand.
Eye of the Needle has been on my To Be
Read the list for quite some time. I’ve read Pillars of the Earth twice and loved
it both times. When Follett published World Without End, a kind of sequel to
Pillars, I devoured that as well. Fall of Giants disappointed me greatly, but I
knew that I had Eye of the Needle in reserve.
And this spy thriller delivers quite the
adventure! No masterwork of literature here, but the story certainly diverts
your attention and allows you to escape into WWII moves and counter-moves.
Now I’m not going to spoil anything here
for you, but I would avoid reading too many summaries of this book. I consider
some of them too detailed for my tastes. And My Person and I had recently
watched The Iron Lady where there’s a pretty big spoiler. The book has been out
since 1978, so I’m not complaining, but if you have not read this book, then I
would avoid this Margaret Thatcher movie until you’ve finished reading it.
The main character is Henry Faber, one
alias of a German spy who has floated anonymously through England since before
WWII began observing Allied movements and reporting back to Nazi headquarters
with his signature style featuring an air of superiority and defiance.
He is the consummate spy. Throughout the
novel, his ability to manipulate circumstances is impressive. As a character, I
didn’t like him, but he is quite efficient. Tagging along with his every move
and being privy to his thought process keeps this novel engaging.
Follett sets his story as the Allies are
building up forces for D-Day and they are trying to camouflage their activity
with misdirection in a variety of areas. While the plot centers around these
true events, the majority of the characters are fictional. Sure Hitler and
Churchill get some face time, but Follett’s point is who knows if a spy like
Faber existed.
Then there are the MI5 agents who are
tasked with identifying Faber and stopping him. These MI5 agents cannot afford
to let Faber deliver a message back to Germany. Two main agents are chasing
Faber and a few other characters whose roles become important in the last third
of the novel.
With these multiple points of view,
Follett nicely balances his narration between the good guys and the bad guys.
Sure Faber is just one Nazi bad guy, but we get scenes involving other Germans
who are trying to figure out how their top spy may communicate his report. And
back in England, the British characters are unraveling who Faber truly is while
simultaneously trying to stop him from filing his report. It’s good stuff all
around. Lots of chasing.
If you have never read any of Follett’s
work, then this is a good place to start. The paperback is 368 pages, which is
shorter than many of his other books. If you like his style, then his other
books have even more point-of-view characters that he rotates his narration
around.
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| Image Source: Rotten Tomatoes |
Film reference
In the film The Iron Lady there is a scene
in which the retired Margaret Thatcher is shown reading Eye of the Needle.
The Bollywood movie Fanaa is loosely based
on the book, moved to a contemporary Indian location. The role of the German
spy Faber being taken by a Kashmiri separatist militant seeking to gain a
nuclear weapon, while the role of Lucy is given to a Kashmiri girl who loves
the militant yet ends up killing him.
Another Bollywood movie Right Yaaa Wrong
is also loosely based on the book.
Critical reception
On November 5, 2019, BBC News listed
Eye of the Needle on its list of the 100 most influential novels.
My Ratings for this book: 5/5
Get your copy from Amazon – Eye of the
Needle
Written By – Violet Priscilla S
Edited By - Anamika Malik
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